PRI RITIES A Magazine of Woodside Priory School
It’s the
MAD Hatter’s Ball!
Celebrating 46 Years of Benedictine Education
April 2004
Woodside Priory School Celebrating 46 Years of Benedictine Education In This Issue Students turn their “talents” to charity for the Lenten season, questions about the new master plan are answered, and some happy news announced. Headmaster’s Letter, page 3
Spring at a Glance, Page 4-5
Olympic gold-medallist Dr. Annette Salmeen is on the pool deck, 43 students at one time are on stage for “The Mouse That Roared,” Model United Nations members defend Algeria’s turf at UC Berkeley, three acclaimed musicians are artists in residence on the campus, and eighth graders wash cars and each other for a good cause. Spring at a Glance, pages 4 and 5. We can’t cure the most debilitating conditions that are the specter of unhealthy old age, but most of us can prevent them. In a speech accepting an award from the Society on Aging, Dr. Walter Bortz gives a positive and balanced perspective on how and why to grow old. Community Forum, page 6.
Robots, Page 6-8
They move things in unsafe environments, do surgery from far away, and even go into human bodies to patch things up. Robots aren’t just R2D2 anymore. At Stanford’s Robotics Lab, Woodside Priory’s robotics team sees how the people working at the cutting edge of this new field study the motion of the human body to improve their products. Academics, page 7 Everyone will have a wacky good time in the charming English garden setting of the Mad Hatter’s Ball, this year’s fund-raising auction and party. Come in black tie or Victorian costume—but come! Preview the grand event and some of the delectable auction items. Auction, pages 8, 9 and 10.
Auction 2004, Page 8-10
In the 1960s, Wegman’s Garden Supply and Landscaping created a vision as lovely as an English garden just off Woodside Road when their acres of flowers were in bloom. Today, the blooms are gone but Mark and Erhart offer the same personal service and professional adivce that their parents once did. Alumni Profile, page 11. Cold, dark weather is gone and spring blooms on the campus—what more perfect setting for the message of the Lenten and Easter season. Father Martin Mager’s prayer for the Priory campus is that it will always stand for peace over violence. Benedictine letter, page 12.
Performing Arts Center, Page 13-15
The proposed Performing Arts Center’s design has morphed from a “black box” on the hill to what probably will be its final form—an elegant, asymmetrical design adjacent to Founders Hall with a walkway that keeps it well connected to academic life. Design committee member Tom Carter reports on how it looks from a user’s point of view. Campaign update, pages 13, 14 and 15.
On the cover: The Mad Hatter, Headmaster Tim Molak, gets a spot of tea or something stronger from Alice (Samantha Hiller), and Dormouse Molly Dellheim with March Hare Nick Chapman join the party. It’s an English garden scene that evokes the Mad Hatter’s Ball. The headmaster should be in rare form when he dons this thematic hat in place of his usual auctioneer’s model for the Live Auction. Story on pages 8, 9 and 10.
Board of Directors Abbott Matthew Leavy, OSB Father Mark Cooper, OSB Brother Edward Englund, OSB Father Martin Mager, OSB Father William Sullivan, OSB Board of Trustees Mr. Dave Arnold Dr. Kristen Brew Mr. Peter Campagna* Mrs. Liz Cirino Mr. Al Ebneter Ms. Betsy Haehl Mrs. Anne Hannigan Mrs. Dotty Hayes Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB Mr. George Huertas Mr. Craig Johnson Mrs. Virginia Kavanaugh Mr. Steven Krausz Mrs. Mary Lemuth Mr. Alfred Li* Fr. Maurus Nemeth, OSB Mrs. Janiece Bacon Oblak Mr. Bill Roberts Ms. Alicia Rodriguez Mr. Ray Rothrock Mr. Andy Schilling Mr. Bob Simon Dr. Stuart Young * Special Representative
Priorities magazine is published in October, January, April and July by Woodside Priory School for its alumni, parents, students, neighbors and friends. Contact the Communications Office at 650-851-6193 or the school at 650-851-8221. Editor: Carolyn Dobervich Design: Jim Kirkland, Copperline Multimedia Photos: Carolyn Dobervich, Father Martin Mager, Jim Kirkland, Charles Kou, Class of 2001, Cathrine Houston, parent. Chapel Services Masses at 7:15 a.m. Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m. Sunday Hungarian service 8 p.m. third Friday (Taize) ecumenical service All are welcome.
From the Headmaster
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utumn is the real start of the New Year to people in education—but this year, with the weather turning balmy and the camellias outside my office window in flower, I feel that we have a new year starting around us already. What a perfect setting we have here to celebrate the renewal and promise of the Lenten season and Easter! Lenten Season The WPS community filled the seats in the newly expanded and remodeled Chapel for our Ash Wednesday services. It’s a time, Father Martin told us, for Carpe Diem—seize the day! I asked students over the next 40 days to be less concerned about how they look on the outside, but really to do some housekeeping on the inside. Each student was given $1, representing the talent given to the workers in the Parable of the Talents from scripture, and asked to make it multiply, using their own efforts. This has been a good experience for the students in past years. Students have held concerts and raffles, bake sales and movie sales, stuffed envelopes and gone babysitting, among other things. We will collect the “multiplied talents” at Chapel on April 19. Master Plan In my last letter I described the details of our campus master plan that is now before the Portola Valley Planning Commission. Over the past three months, we have met with commissioners twice and with a few of the town’s subcommittees. I feel that these meetings have been positive and fruitful for everyone. We have already made a few revisions and clarifications at town officials’ request, and more review meetings are scheduled. We hope to reach public hearings late in the spring. Some questions have arisen that I’d like to share with you. Why is the Priory “Woodside” instead of “Portola Valley” Priory? At the time the school was founded, nearly 50 years ago, the townships had not yet formed. The entire valley was generally referred to as “Woodside,” and that’s why the school bears that name. By the time Portola Valley had a separate identification, Woodside Priory School’s name was pretty well established.
Will the Priory continue to offer use of its playing field to local residents and teams? Yes. We are recognized in the Portola Valley Town Plan as an educational facility, an emergency shelter, and a provider of local services such as these. Will you rent the proposed Performing Arts Center? No—it is designed for school use, and the proposed Conditional Use Permit restricts it to the school and to certain official town uses. For example, a town meeting that would draw too large a crowd for Town Center facilities might be held on our premises. How can the town assure that future Priory administrators will observe the provisions in the Conditional Use Permit? The town already closely monitors the building process, and I have submitted a plan along the lines proposed by the town planning staff for monitoring school enrollment and use of facilities. I think all parties agree that clearly defined measures and expectations will be a good thing. We’ve had a hard fall and winter, with three faculty members needing to leave the classroom at least temporarily because of health issues and one more because of a visa problem. Dr. Judith Browning lost her life very suddenly to cancer in December. With that background, it is wonderful to be able to announce that Alicia Parker, our Director of Residential Life, is leaving to have a baby. Dean of Students Erik Carlson is taking over her duties, and he will become the new Dean of the Boarding Program in the fall. Erik lives in one of the two dorm apartments with his wife Lucy and daughters Lisa and Pippa. He lived and worked in boarding programs before coming to the Priory, and he is excited about his new assignment. Meanwhile, Alicia plans to stay in close touch—she lives on campus with her husband, Scott. As we look to the final quarter of the school year, we are grateful for the four new faculty members who joined us at the semester break and for the generosity and flexibility of faculty who have helped assure that colleagues’ classes were covered without interruption. Our faculty receiving health treatment are doing very well, and we look forward to their complete return to health. Please keep them in your prayers. And may you have a blessed, healthy and happy spring. Sincerely, Tim Molak, Headmaster
Students make their Lenten “talents” multiply, some interesting questions have arisen over the proposed master plan, and the dorm community will welcome a new baby and a new Dean.
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Spring at a Glance Eighth graders Kaori Ogawa (wielding the hose), Whitney Greswold, Alyssa Chung and Lindsay Barnett seem to be washing each other as much as the cars they captured on the way to the Father-Student Mass, Brunch and Basketball event. The students were “applying their talents” for charity, part of a Lenten challenge to make a small amount of money grow for a good cause. Headmaster Tim Molak explains it in his letter, page 3.
Team members of the Priory Model United Nations team, Michael Mellenthin and Myles Lam won an award for their work representing Algeria in the World Health Organization at a MUN conference held at University of California, Berkeley from March 12 to 14. In the inset photo, the whole Priory team gathers on Sproul Plaza with Sather Gate in the background. They are (from first row left) Myles, Ciarra Villaflor Tanakatsubo, Alicia Kriewall, (second row) Scott Bader, Nick Coombs, Dan Wenger, (third row) Ms. Helen O’Hara (advisor), Michael, Laura Hahnsbeen, Andrew Smith, Susan Lyon, Sharaf Rizvi, and Igor Golden (faculty chaperone). The Priory represented China at Harvard and Georgetown earlier in the year.
The great 1950s Peter Sellers movie, The Mouse That Roared, was as funny as ever when WPS’s 43-member cast of sixth through twelfth graders presented it on stage on March 4, 5 and 6. The tiny duchy of Grand Fenwick invades New York with bows and arrows, fully expecting to lose and capture something more important than glory— foreign aid. But things go seriously awry when they accidentally come into possession of a nuclear bomb and the worst happens—they win. The wide range of characters gave students’ imaginations plenty of scope and the audience plenty of laughs. To the left, Gar Waterman holds the colors while Diego Moncada, Maxim Sirenko and Ned Cameron attack. In the inset photo, Count Mountjoy (Travis Maahs) exudes his best sneer. It was a last performance for seniors Gar and Travis, as well as for fellow seniors Jerry Shih, James Eanaman and Kevin Stasun. Director and drama teacher, John Sugden, got a welldeserved bouquet.
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Annette Salmeen, a four-time All-American at UCLA, NCAA champion in the 200 Butterfly and Gold Medallist at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, opened her medal case for curious students at the WPS poolside on March 6. She was offering technique and training instruction plus one-on-one coaching for Priory swimmers. Cory Olcott, a well-known water polo coach— among other things, he founded the Stanford women’s team—joined the Priory faculty in January and arranged the special session. And Annette isn’t just a great sports role model—she earned a PhD from Oxford in biology and is currently a fellow at Stanford working on cell development.
Three acclaimed young classical performers appeared on the campus this winter in a special program that combined an “artist in residence” day and concert on the campus with a free, evening performance for the local public. The series was the inspiration of a Priory parent who is affiliated with Young Concert Artists, Inc. in New York. The music of Wendy Chen, piano, Robert Belenic, guitar, and Naoko Takada, marimba, was breathtakingly lovely. The newly expanded Chapel was a perfect setting for a small concert.
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Community Forum Time, Knowledge and Responsibilty Are Keys To Aging The following article is a series of three excerpts from the address delivered by Walter M. Bortz II on receiving the 2002 American Society on Aging Chair’s Award. Dr. Bortz, one of the most distinguished scientific experts on aging in the US, is the author of 150 scientific articles for research publications, as well as many books for professional and popular audiences. Dr. Borke will be the keynote speaker at Woodside Priory School’s ninth Community Forum on April 6. See the back cover for details.
Dr. Walter M. Bortz
I see the future of aging as an opportunity to grow into our humanity in more enlightened and enriched ways.
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Humans are Blessed . . . Human beings are blessed by the fact that today, for the first time in history, we know with confidence how long people can and should expect to live. This new knowledge is a surpassing gift—the gift of being able to forecast accurately the human lifetime. Time is so important because it allows for accumulated learning. Every particle of our bodies and minds is shaped by experience. Not only do our brain dendrites grow as we experience more—for good and bad—but so too do our muscles, arteries, and fat deposits respond to the cueing that the environment provides… we humans become what we do. One way that humans have adapted to modern longevity is by spreading education across our lifetimes. Lifelong learning is a new idea. Until now, education has been thought of as confined to the early decades of life. . . From Cure to Prevention . . .Only a century and a half ago, medical science was entangled with metaphysics. Sickness was the result of sin until Louis Pasteur came along to initiate an empiric, knowledge-based approach to health and disease. For the ensuing 150 years, the medical effort was devoted largely to the disease model of healthcare. This approach, getting rid of offending agents through surgery or drugs, boasted outstanding successes. Today, however, this repair model of healthcare proves woefully inadequate in addressing the chronic conditions that increasingly predominate. The disease-repair approach simply cannot cure any of the big killers we now face: heart disease, stroke,
emphysema, diabetes, arthritis. But—and this is the huge “but”—we can prevent most of them. This shift away from “cures” leads to the next major era of health care, which is dominated by prevention, the current forefront of healthcare. It is entwined with a new knowledge of the potentials of human lifetime delivered by the exploration of aging. Aging is now dissociable from genes, accidents and poor maintenance, the other determinants of health. No longer can we blame aging for most latelife miseries, because aging per se is a very stately process, which truly has minor impact on one’s wellbeing until the 10th decade of human life. Most of that which has been blamed on aging isn’t due to aging, but is traceble, upon close analysis, to other, more tractable agencies. This recognition by contemporary science is a great gift. Rights and Responsibilities This brings me to responsibility. We are born with rights, but we accumulate responsibility. As we humans live longer and learn more, we develop responsibility for ourselves and for the world. This responsibility derives from knowledge, which in turn derives from time. In a recent issue of Science Journal, editor Donald Kennedy wrote of John Gardner, who died recently and who received the ASA Chair’s Award in 1999, “Gardner had a deep grasp of the paradox in American life. Our frontier devotion to personal freedom, even license, on the one hand, and our strongly held commitment to social order on the other is a topic visited by many scholars, but Gardner had a unique ability to extract the essence of this ageold dilemma. He compressed it into this summary of the social contract: ‘freedom and responsibility, rights and responsibilities, liberty and duty, that’s the deal.” In order to frame the profound issue of human existence, we must live long enough to achieve selfmastery, self actualization. The late writer, Mae Sarton wrote, “As I age, I become more me.”. . . . . . I see the future of aging as an opportunity to grow into our humanity in more enlightened and enriched ways. This is what I have learned about the meaning of life in 72 years. Invite me back 10 years from now, and I will tell you a richer story.
Academics WPS Robotics Club Sees The Future at Stanford Lab
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ess than a week after completing and shipping their own robot, WPS’s robotics club spent an afternoon with robotics professionals on the cutting edge of their field. They were guests of CS Professor Oussama Khatib at Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab in the new Gates Computer Science Building. Dr Kahib’s research team focuses on extending the utility of robotic aid in two related areas. The team studies humans’ ability to navigate and react to a changing environment in the hopes of mimicking it, so that humans and robots can work more safely and easily on cooperative tasks. They are also improving human ability to control robots remotely as they perform tasks in environments the operator can’t (or doesn’t want to) reach. The control devices they’re developing enable the operators to use the robots as intuitively as they control their own hands. This contemporary robotics research requires an intimate knowledge of not only engineering and computer science, but physics, physiology, and the cognitive sciences as well, making it a truly unique discipline. Back at school, the students’ challenge had been to design and build from scratch a robot capable of doing several specific tasks—no instructions provided, all within six weeks. Their robot is now in storage with the FIRST Robotics Competition, Inc. and is entered in a regional contest in early April. Read about the new AI lab at http://robotics.stanford.edu/index.html
Back at school, the students designed and built their own robot in six weeks.
Dr. Khatib explained the challenges, then gave Priory students hands-on opportunities with several prototype robots. Team members pictured here are (from left) Vivian Nikolich, Dr. Kahib, Nolan Greene, David Dobervich (advisor), Aaron Mandle, Myles Lam, George Schnurle, Sr., George Schnurle. Alex Dehnert and Mike Mellenthin are pictured with Dr. Khatib at left. Club members not pictured include Chris Benham and Andrew Ho.
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the Mad Hatter’s Ball There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Dormouse were having tea at it. “Have some wine!” said the March Hare in an encouraging tone. . . After that, things got curiouser and curiouser.
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What you spend at the auction will come back to classrooms in the fall. –Tim Molak, Headmaster
hings will be curiouser indeed when you step through the looking glass and into the lovely Victorian garden that hosts this year’s madcap Auction and Ball. You’ll leave the Hotel Sofitel’s Parisian theme behind as you pass by the famous rose tree being painted before your eyes by the playing card courtiers. But don’t worry—you can proceed more safely than Alice because nobody’s after your head. Check your pocket watch—it’s 6 p.m., May 1, and the silent auction is just beginning. Dinner and the Grand Auction follow at eight, with dancing (to an eight-piece live band we know and love) and general wackiness ‘till midnight. For Priory guests who want to party on into the wee hours, Sofitel offers a special rate that makes sleeping over easier (and safer) than falling down a rabbit hole.. As you walk into the garden, you’ll be struck at once—not literally—by a fancy Victorian teapot large enough for the dormouse and most of the Lewis Carroll characters to climb in. You’ll be plied at once with libations stronger than tea and imported delicacies that bear no resemblance to tedious English fare.
The biddable delicacies scattered artfully throughout the rooms for your bidding pleasure will keep you so occupied that you, like the White Rabbit, could completely lose track of time. As you move from room to room, you will feel you have somehow stumbled into the illustrations of your childhood Lewis Carroll book. And it wouldn’t be Wonderland without surprises—wonderfully dazzling surprises. Volunteers have outdone themselves finding the rare, the coveted, the unique, the glamorous and the practical items for the silent and grand auctions— something for every taste and price range. The rooms full of treasures represent the collective effort of the whole extended Priory community to create a dazzling and successful event. “This event is a tribute to volunteer spirit. It takes teriffic effort to do it, but its purpose is not only to raise funds the school needs but also to give everyone a renewed sense of community. I love to see all the alumni and their families, and it’s great to see parents and colleagues in a different atmosphere. It’s always a showstopper of an evening, and the amazing thing is that every year it gets better,” commented Father Martin Mager, Director of Alumni Affairs. The explanation may be simple: Auction Chairs Wayne and Cindy Davison have taken a leadership role in or chaired at least ten auctions and probably more. They have learned just about everything there is to know about creating a wonderful and successful event, and they bring all that experience to this one. High tech gear, tickets to everything, professional services from CPAs to garden design, sports Treasure Cay, Abaco, The Bahamas, is rated one of the 10 best beaches in the world by National Geographic. And if you’re worried about the lobsters and the snails and the Mock Turtle on the beach. . .well, your villa is just minutes from a pool.
equipment and lessons, certificates to restauraunts and clubs and spas, baskets of goodies, family portraits and precious jewels, toys and trinkets and wonderful, wonderful vacations near and far will bedeck the garden tables. Things you need and things you want will tempt you. And you can indulge knowing you are helping an important cause—Priory education. “This is our only fund-raising event and we count on the proceeds every year to support the next year’s operating budget. What you spend at the auction will come back to classrooms in the fall,” said Tim Molak, Headmaster. Just follow Alice’s example and nibble on a magic mushroom, kick back, and imagine yourself in possession of the items below—or go to the Mad Hatter’s Ball Web site and read about even more. It’s at www.woodsidepriory.com/auction. • Who could resist a week on the gorgeous Sabre 362 yacht? If you’re picturing your college sailing class experience, forget it—this one has luxurious accommodations and custom fittings inside plus the ability to deliver a seakindly ride along the Maine/New Hampshire coast. Four adults or two adults with two children older than eight will enjoy the freedom of their own skipper to deliver them to any of the scenic, historic coast towns they choose. You can custom-plan your itinerary, but keep the freedom to change your mind along the way. August is beautiful and September—the best of the leaf season—even more so. The donor of this gift, a Priory student’s grandparent, is so anxious for you to enjoy this experience that he will even stock the galley with your favorite foods and breakfast cereals. • If you visit museum shops, you know that teapots aren’t what they used to be—and the custom-designed ones are hot tickets. This one, by Jono Pandolfi Designs in New York is 16-inches It’s a custom design and a modern take on a classic object—and it really works!
of pale green fascination. The color is achieved by oxidation firing copper carbonate at 2100 degrees. It’s a luxury item for a collector or investor., or a lucky individual who simply falls in love with it. • Giants fans will remember forever the time they sat in The Chronicle’s box at SBC Park (formerly Pacbell Park) for a big game. Unless you’re a Chron sportswriter it’s pretty hard to arrange. But Priory volunteers did it and the thrill can be yours. • After the tea party, head for the wine country! Fly to Santa Rosa Airpport and return to Reid Hillview in a Turbo Skylane with room for three passengers. Cruise over the Golden Gate, buzz San Francisco, and see the beautiful Napa-Sonoma vinyards from an Eagle’s (or maybe a Gryphon’s) vantage point. • Think Bahamas and you think breathtaking white beaches, swimming, beachcombing, golf, tennis (on clay and hard surfaces, not sand), deep sea fishing, plus terrific food and accommodations. Luckily for auction-goers, Priory volunteers reeled in seven nights in a two-bedroom, twobath Bahamian villa that sleeps five. To make it even more tempting, it’s located at Treasure Cay, Abaco, where the 3.5-mile white sand beach is rated one of the 10 best in the world by National Geographic.
Imagine yourself sailing along the Maine coast in autumn…stopping to pull in a couple of fresh lobster for breakfast and mooring at some cute little town for historic sightseeing, shopping and dinner.
• Remember when Alice fell down the rabbit hole, These adorable chess pieces could have jumped right through the center of the Earth, and thought out of the book. she might land in the Antipathies? Well, parent Virginia Taylor has fallen as far as Barcelona, Spain, this year and will be back next year stocked with savory, yummy, delicious Catalan treats. She’s offering her always-popular cooking class a n d dinner. If you haven’t seen Virginia in action, and heard her equate Auction volunteers captured the the experience of shared food best box seat in SBC park for with community and love, then Priory bidders. you’re in for a treat. Here’s a littleknown secret—she does it with healthful ingredients that only taste sinful.
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Answers to all your questions and a sneak preview of biddable items are online. Go to www.woodsidepriory.com/auction.
• You’ve never seen a cuter White Rabbit or Queen of Hearts than the miniatures in this Wonderland-theme chess set. They’re about 1 ½ inches or shorter, made of hand painted, carved wood with felt bases. Their realistically imaginative façade in tones of cream, blue, gold, red and black will please anybody familiar with the book illustrations. It could be a great way to start a child or grandchild in chess—or a great decorative piece in a library.
Hors d’oeuvres: Quartered Tea Sandwich of Salmon and Cream Cheese Quartered Tea Sandwich of Cucumber and Dill Cream Cheese Tomato Confit Tartlette Mushroom Caps stuffed with Blue Crab Meat Caviar Baked Potatoes with Onion Crème Fraiche Artichoke Fritters with Boursin Cheese Individual Brie en Croute with Raspberry Walnut Sauce
Salad Endive Salad with Pears, Gorgonzola Cheese, Walnuts, Chive Oil & Lemon Vinagrette
Entrees Grilled Filet of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Fresh Seasonal Vegetables served with Port Wine Sauce Grilled Atlantic Salmon, Fennel Puree with Caramelized Onion Broth served with Potato Gratin and Fresh Seasonal Vegetables Grilled Portobello Mushroom Napoleon with Marinated Bell Peppers, Zucchini & Yellow Squash served with a Pimento Buerre Blanc Sauce
Dessert Individual Mignardise Plate with Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Chocolate Ophelia Cake Miniature Fruit Tart Raspberry Mousse in a Miniature Dark Chocolate Cup Freshly Brewed Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee & Tea Bottles of Red & White Wines at the tables
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• An 18-hole round of golf for two at the famed Pebble Beach course and another round the next day at the equally beautiful Links At Spanish Bay in Carmel will gladden someone’s heart—and Victorian knickers are not required. You will stay for two nights at Pebble Beach Lodge overlooking the famed 18th hole and Stillwater Cove in the Pacific Ocean beyond. Enjoy coffee or drinks on your patio or balcony! • You’ll never be late with Father Martin’s tall clock to chime the hours. This is the 20th in a series of grandfather clock-style timepieces hand made by the Superior of the Benedictine Community. This one will be seven feet tall; it features specially selected black walnut with German clockworks and three chimes. • Parent John Greswold, Father Martin, and some six Priory students have hand-crafted a canoe of beautiful varigated red cedar. It weighs in at about 30 pounds and is a work of art (but meant to be enjoyed in the water.) The names of the crew that created it will be on a small brass plaque affixed to the boat. As is appropriate to a Victorian party, tradition will be maintained, and the faculty-sponsored dinners, parties, services and events will likely all be up for bids again. And you’ll think you’re seeing double—two quilts hand designed and created by the Parents Association will be on display. The ever-popular raffle is being offered again. For a $100 donation, ticket holders get a chance for $10,000 tuition credit or cash. Second prize is $1,000 cash. Only 300 will be sold—buy yours by calling Betsy Gamburd at 650-321-1371. And, oh yes, the Victorian garden—which it turns out is quite large—goes right into the dining room. On your table is a madcap black and white cloth in crazy dots and stripes, a garden hat, a hatbox and—of course—a uniquely original teapot, and some little treats. But the food is strictly French, for which Hotel Sofitel’s chefs are justly renowned. It will be an evening to satisfy all the senses—don’t miss it!
—C. Dobervich
Alumni Profile
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nce upon a time, acres of chrysanthemums bloomed on the south side of Woodside Road, just past El Camino Real, in Redwood City. Across the street, Rudy and Marlis Wegman operated their gardening and landscape supply store out of a small pale green stucco building with a cigar box for a cash till. Today, the chrysanthemums are gone. In their place are apartment buildings and strip malls. Two other nurseries have given way to service stations, a Petco and a Dairy Queen. But, although the green box of a building has been moved back a hundred yards or so to make way for the larger and more modern structure; the property has expanded to 2 acres; and the cigar box has given way to a modern cash register, the Wegman family is still tending the gardening center on Woodside Road. “If my father had known about demographics, he couldn’t have picked a better location,” says son Erhard Wegman. Rudy, a landscaper and recent immigrant from Switzerland, bought the property in 1960 to serve as a landscape yard. But, as his son Erhard explains, “When you’re a landscaper, you always have extra plants.” Rudy and his wife, Marlis, realized they could earn extra money stocking one-gallon plant pots and plots for bedding in their landscape-supply store. And their gardening business was born. Marlis operated the store, while Rudy landscaped. The couple and their three kids lived in a two-story ramshackle house right on the property: “two bedrooms up, two bedrooms down,” according to Erhard, who was 2 when they started the business. Erhard and Mark, both Woodside Priory alumni, now operate Wegman’s Nursery with their sister, Heidi Wegman Pellarin. Neither brother can imagine doing anything else. The business, the two agree, keeps them grounded. They both love the trees and shrubs, but more than that, they love imparting information. “Knowledge is the key,” Erhard says. On a recent day, a regular customer comes to the store to ask Erhard some questions. Meanwhile, Mark loads up a Radio Flyer wagon with seedlings for another customers, all the while explaining where to plant them, what to mix in the soil and how to water them.
The Radio Flyer wagon is one of the Wegmans’ signature pieces of equipment. Before nursery carts were available, the family found the kid’s toy to be a convenient way to transport plants from the store to a customer’s car door, and you can see four or five red wagons in front of the parking lot at any given time. The brothers credit the Priory with giving them a good foundation for picking up the family business. The monks “taught discipline,” says Mark, who belonged to the Priory’s inaugural eighth grade class and graduated in 1978. “They were very strict.” They emphasized “you finish a task and do it the best you can.” Yet, that message was sent with a lot of warmth and fun along the way. Mark recalls Brother Benedict, an amateur magician, making a tiger appear and disappear at the Emerald Ball (a precursor to the current annual auction and ball). Erhard remembers Father Maurus unable to keep a straight face during sex education class and Father Christopher loudly cheering his soccer team on. Erhard graduated in 1976, then pursued his love of soccer while attending Foothill College in Los Altos Hills for a year and a half. Later, he moved to New England, attended St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire, and stayed in the area for 10 years. He fancied a career in restaurants for a while and spent a winter and a summer in Switzerland, working in a youth hostel. Then he and a college friend started a landscape and gardening maintenance business. Erhard finally decided to return to the family business. Mark, a 1978 graduate, spent a year and half at the College of San Mateo before jumping right into the business. The Wegmans view the Priory as more than just the place they went to school. The nursery continues to supply the Priory with greenery. And Mark’s two children are now attending the Priory. (Mark loves the fact that the Priory is coeducational.) When Marlis, a Lutheran, died in 1989, Father Christopher, Father Maurus and Father Egon said Mass at her funeral, Erhard says. “We weren’t just students. We were part of a family,” Mark says.
—Gwynne Young
Photo provided by Wegman family
Erhard Wegman, Class of 1976 Lives in Redwood City Wife: Vicky Children: Tristan, 6, and Jackson, 5 Favorite activities: Aikido (martial art) and cooking Professional field: Horticulture Mark Wegman, Class of 1978 Lives in Redwood City Wife: Graziella Children: Stephanie, 18, and Greg, 14 Favorite activities: Hunting, skiing, water-skiing and traveling Professional field: Horticulture
In the 1960’s, travelers along Woodside Road couldn’t miss the acres of blooms at Wegman’s gardening and landscape supply store. Today, the nursery is different but the owners’ attitude—learned from the monks—hasn’t changed.
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Benedictine Letter
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It’s spring, a time to appreciate new life and renewal—and hopefully a flowering of goodness in the human heart.
The beginning of the Lenten season, which many Christians observe with a symbolic spot of ashes on the forehead, is usually celebrated outdoors by Priory monks, amidst the wonderful backdrop of flowers and trees.
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oday is one of those great days! It is a perfect California Spring day with a cloudless sky, a warm sun that seems to reach deeply into the body, and air that seems particularly fresh. I keep looking out of my office window this morning, wondering why we spend so much time indoors and why I shouldn’t heed the plea of one of the Seniors, “Hey, Father, let’s go to the beach!” Somehow the winter seemed a bit longer and harsher this year, at least by California standards. The rain wasn’t dramatic, just wet! Too much dampness and the kind of chill that invades the bones! Days felt shorter and the nights darker this winter. But today, that’s another story, because we know that there will be many more days to follow which will mirror this one. Winter is over! New life springs up! The victory of spring! Haven’t seen The Passion of the Christ yet, but I’ve heard a lot about it, pro and con. I think I’ll wait to see it when it is no longer the major film topic covered just about everywhere one looks. It is reportedly a very violent presentation—Mel Gibson’s particular vision of the suffering of Jesus Christ as he was led to his death. Perhaps this very fact can be a reminder to each of us that we live in a world which is still filled with a violence that drains the human spirit and takes away all hope for a future. For Christians, this is the season of Lent and Easter—a time of new life, hope and joy. It is my hope and my prayer that the Priory will always be a place which stands for peace over violence, and that we will always be able to teach our students that in the love of God, love of others and love of ourselves we will be strong voices for good in a world which desperately needs to hear those voices. And perhaps, as spring breezes push away the tired winter weather, so too will new life appear in the goodness of the human heart. Welcome to spring.
Martin Mager, OSB Superior of the Benedictine Community
The Performing Arts Center’s Design Takes Shape After more than three years of meetings and revisions, the PAC design committee’s current plan is visually elegant and educationally just what’s needed, says one committee member. Although funding questions are yet to be answered and the building permit process yet to be completed, the final design of Woodside Priory’s wished-for Performing Arts Center is coming into focus. From its inception, the special perspective of the users—the students and faculty— has been in the capable hands of Tom Carter, former performing arts department head. It’s been an exciting ride to get to this point, and the building that committee members now envision is simply stunning, Tom says. The most recent design is a striking two stories that makes use of vertical lines and glass, with a visual focus on a large, open plaza between the building and Founders Hall, and a breezeway that ties the new building to the rest of the campus. A beautiful old oak tree borders the breezeway and is the focal point of the theatre classroom. The asymmetrical effect of placing a small theatre arts classroom across the breezeway from the large auditorium/classroom building is visually dynamic – creating an impressive yet welcoming feel, Tom says. The PAC concept began years ago as a “black box” on the top of the hill—a plan that turned out to be inexpensive but not very practical. That concept morphed to a “big box” auditorium with satellite shop and classrooms located on the Founders Hall parking lot. That became a single, large, one-story building which cut into the hillside, and that became today’s asymmetrical, two-level design. While the concept of the PAC was still fresh and new, and a design committee not yet appointed, Tom went to work with architectural software on his home computer. Having worked in his pre-WPS life in a wide variety of school and theater settings, and having even developed a plan for a theater in a former auto repair facility, Tom brought substantial practical knowledge to the project. He came up with performing arts facilities that had what he considered “the basics.”
Update
• An auditorium with comfortable and traditional theater seating—but retractable, so that the floor can be used for many purposes, including school dances, dance classes or large receptions. • A large stage and adjacent space suitable for producing musicals. • Acoustical sophistication that would enhance both theater and concert performances. (Acoustics in the gym and Assembly Hall are so inadequate that WPS choirs and orchestras hold their concerts off the campus.) • A scene shop with easy access to the stage. • A “green room” (actors’ waiting area) directly behind the stage, so actors’ noise is removed from the audience and stage entrances are easily accessible.
Maas Family Commons Completed and occupied on schedule.
Performing Arts Center
More than $4 million of the $7 million goal achieved. Next steps are being assesed.
Endowment
Nearly $2.2 million towards $5 million gaol. Current effort is the annual drive to fund scholarships named for Priory Benedictine fathers (the “Father Funds”)
Other features in his initial design included: • A drama classroom suitable for productions with a small number of performers and audience (such as a class play). • Individual orchestral and choral classrooms with storage spaces and practice rooms. • A theater lobby with space to display student visual arts. • A kitchen that would support banquets • A standard orchestra pit A design committee—consisting of Headmaster Tim Molak, Brother Edward Englund, Trustee Al Ebneter and Tom—went to work. Trustees Bill Roberts, Ray Rothrock and Wayne Davison, Director of Finance Jack Hundley, and Terry Hayes (whose daughter graduated in 2003) joined in spring 2003. Architects Steve Kelley and Mark Miller joined in early summer. This committee made a series of design revisions and brought the project up to its final stage.
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Better, Not Bigger
The Performing Arts Center is designed for the classes and activities already taking place on the campus. “We don’t plan to increase any of the programs, we just need to support them with better quality, more suitable facilities,” said Tim Molak, Headmaster. Nevertheless, parking that was added for multiple needs will benefit guests to the PAC. The campus master plan replaces the current 51-space lot with 73 designated spaces near the PAC. For the relatively few occasions every year when this won’t do, cars can park, as they do now, in student spaces up the hill, along the campus roadways, and around the track. WPS will continue its longstanding practice of using traffic patrol volunteers to help with parking and flow, he added.
The building now has changed substantially from Tom’s first plan, but that’s fine with him.
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“(WPS Trustee) Al Ebneter gave the PAC its first big start by taking the basic concepts and budget, and drawing up our first set of blueprints. His background and knowledge of the building industry were invaluable,” Tom said. For many people on and off the committee, Al Ebneter’s blueprints were the first assurance that this project could work—a beautiful, functional, design that fit the space and budget could be achieved. The campus community started thinking about other possibilities: students got excited about good acoustics and a workspace that would attract more performing arts students. One student asked if the building could include the overhead translators one sees at the San Francisco Opera House, so students could do operas. Another hoped for facilities where students could create and record their own music. A middle school student said wistfully that with a good auditorium perhaps “we could have small symphonic orchestras play at assemblies—we’ve never had that.” Adults mentioned things like Portola Valley town meetings, the Community Forum lecture series, sports banquets, and graduations. The committee looked at practical issues and made changes, among them: • A more spacious lobby that encourages efficient audience movement into and out of the auditorium. A second-level lobby provides more convenient access to upper auditorium seating as well as additional art space. • A modified orchestra pit that does not require major excavation. • Improved bathrooms. • An upper-level technical support area that flanks the stage and allows for more creative theatrical and concert staging. • A smaller kitchen, suitable for catered events. The architects reoriented the building for better access and to avoid cutting into the hill. They created a student walkway right through the heart of the performing arts classroom area, and, not incidentally, figured out a way to save that handsome old tree.
The driving forces in the evolving design have been mainly practical considerations, such as orienting the shop and back stage entrance next to a small parking area for easy pick-up and delivery. Other design factors include budgetary constraints, the need to conform to town building codes, and the desire to impact neighbors in only a positive way. Most issues have been easily resolved through discussion and consensus, Tom said. The most recent committee members, the architects, proved to be good listeners, offering sound suggestions and listening carefully to reactions, he said. “The current plan is visually appealing, with lots of possibilities for attractive exterior design. I like the way the breezeway leads students on their way to the gym right past all the arts classrooms—it helps the students to see the performing arts as integral to their education. It’s a big improvement over the isolated location of the Assembly Hall and music room. And in terms of getting students excited about performances and concerts - students can’t miss the action when they walk right through the PAC.” Tom explained. The building now has changed substantially from Tom’s first plan, but that’s fine with him. “The committee has made good decisions, and the architects have brought some truly exciting designs. I’m thrilled with this building and I think everyone will be impressed with its look, its feel, and its contributions to the life of the school!” The bones of the building—the fundamentals— could still be changed if budgetary or town review constraints require it. If those aspects go well, and once they are completed, Tom thinks only minor tweaking will be needed to complete the design. Finishing touches such as seats, stage lighting, acoustics and a sound system are still ahead. Choices of interior and exterior color, wall and floor surfaces, furniture choices, landscape design – all these have yet to be decided. Most buildings like the PAC are funded in two
stages. The first stage depends on patrons who have the vision, passion and funds to assure that the building will become a reality. In the second stage, once people can feel sure that the building is going up, a new opportunity opens to bring in the best finishing touches. That stage is yet to come.
During his seven years at WPS, Tom helped build the Performing Arts department from a relative few classes and performances to today’s schedule of 14 classes and about 12 performances a year. He retired this year to pursue writing, coaching, and to teach private lessons. Check his Web site at www.choralcoaching.com for more information.
More information about the PAC, and a video presentation written and acted by students and teachers, are online. Go to www.woodsidepriory.com and click on the Golden Jubilee icon.
Meet the incomparable author of DARE to be 100
Dr. Walter M. Bortz
Tuesday, April 6, 2004 7:30 p.m. Woodside Priory School
No charge but reservations are requested Contact Pat Reed (650 851-8221 preed@woodsidepriory.com This award-winning, nationally recognized authority on aging and best-selling author shows that • you need time and experience to reach your full human potential • debilitating old age isn’t natural • almost everyone can have an active old age • it’s no mystery—his own life proves it In DARE, he breaks the secret into Diet, Attitude, Renewal and Exercise. Dr. Bortz, a septegenarian, is a clinical associate at Stanford Medical School, an internist with a large private practice, and author of more than 100 papers and four books. He just ran his 30th Boston Marathon. In this photo, he is with his wife, Ruth, at the end of a run. This is WPS’s ninth annual Community Forum, which brings speakers of national stature to the local community. Other guests have included primatologist Jane Goodall, former Secretary of State William Perry, and former Olympic basketball champion and Senator, Bill Bradley. A reception with refreshments will follow the lecture. DARE is available at the event or in advance in the WPS business office, or from Ginny Kavanaugh at 116 Portola Road, Portola Valley. Books are carried at local bookstores. To learn more about Dr. Bortz, go to www.woodsidepriory.com
Woodside Priory School 302 Portola Road Portola Valley, CA 94028 (650) 851-8221 fax (650) 851-2839
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Celebrating Our 46th Year